Return to gymnastics after childbirth

The core principle of postpartum recovery gymnastics is never to follow the templates of Internet celebrities to catch up with progress. Instead, it is to conduct postpartum assessment first, adjust movements according to the body’s recovery stage, and make differentiated selections for different situations. The priority of all movements is “not causing physical damage” first, and “shaping and fat loss” last. There is no universal training table suitable for all mothers.

A while ago, on the 3rd day after my best friend gave birth, she found a platform called "7 Days Postpartum Tummy Exercises" with over 100,000 likes while lying down, and followed it up with abdominal crunches for two days. She used to only leak urine when she coughed, but now she can leak even a piece of underwear when she stands up with the baby in her arms. I was so scared that I ran out She went to the Maternity and Child Rehabilitation Department and was scolded by the doctor - she didn't even do a 42-day postpartum review, her rectus abdominis was separated by 3 fingers, and her pelvic floor muscle strength was only level 1. Blindly practicing her core meant putting pressure on the weak abdominal wall and pelvic floor, which would not aggravate the problem.

The current understanding of resuming gymnastics after childbirth is actually divided into two obvious schools: the hospital clinical rehabilitation school is more conservative. It is generally recommended that before the 42-day postpartum review, only abdominal breathing, non-forced Kegels and other static movements without weight-bearing are allowed. Abdominal crunches, planks, and jumping movements are absolutely prohibited. Even if you were a fitness instructor before pregnancy, you must wait for the organs to return to their original positions and the wounds to heal.； Many coaches in the field of pregnancy and childbirth fitness will be more flexible. If there is no obvious discomfort in the body about a week after delivery, the amount of lochia is normal, and those who have exercise habits all year round before pregnancy can appropriately add very low-intensity movements such as slow walking and sitting core activation, as long as they do not hurt the wound and do not feel tired, it will be fine. Both sides of the statement are actually correct, but they are applicable to different groups. For mothers with weak physical foundation and excessive weight gain during pregnancy, it is definitely safer to choose the conservative plan. Mothers who already have a foundation of exercise and recover quickly do not need to lie down for a month.

When I accompanied my relatives for rehabilitation, the rehabilitation teacher taught several small movements that were completely time-consuming, which was much more practical than setting aside an hour to do exercises. For example, when you wake up in the morning, don't get up, lie down and put your hands on your stomach, and do abdominal breathing for 5 minutes. When you inhale, your belly will slowly expand to the maximum, and when you exhale, it will be withdrawn from the Dantian. Don't shrug your shoulders and don't hold your breath. This can not only help the rectus abdominis to slowly close, but also relieve postpartum constipation. And when you are breastfeeding, don’t lie down on the sofa with your waist hanging in the air. Stand on a small stool about 10 centimeters tall and quietly do Kegels. Contract for 3 seconds and relax for 3 seconds. Do 10 in one set. You can do two or three sets after one feeding. You don’t need to spare any extra time. If you insist on it for two weeks, your pelvic floor muscle strength will increase a lot. Oh, by the way, if you are a mother with side cuts or lacerations, do not clamp too hard during Kegels in the first two weeks. Just feel a slight contraction. If the wound hurts, stop immediately. The gain outweighs the loss.

Oh, by the way, there is another controversial point that many people ask: Should I wear a waistband when doing restorative gymnastics? Most clinical doctors do not recommend it, saying that waist corseting will squeeze the abdominal cavity, but will increase pressure on the pelvic floor muscles and affect recovery. ； Many pregnancy and childbirth fitness bloggers recommend wearing a soft waistband during low-intensity training to give your weak waist some support. I specifically asked an acquaintance of the rehabilitation therapist, and her opinion is that both sides make sense. If you have severe back pain after childbirth, you can wear a corset with soft fabric and moderate pressure when walking or doing light movements. Don’t buy the kind of shaping model that makes you breathless, and don’t wear it 24 hours a day. Just wear it for up to 3 hours a day. As for relying on a corset to slim down your belly? Don't even think about it, it's useless.

Mothers who had a caesarean section should be more careful. They have to turn over slowly in the first two weeks. Don't listen to the nonsense on the Internet about "practice the vest line 15 days after delivery". It takes at least 6 weeks for the deep wound to heal. If you practice abdominal movements in a hurry, you won't even have time to cry after the wound is opened. I have a friend who started doing aerobics 20 days after the operation. The wound was already almost grown, but it became red, swollen and oozing on the day after the operation. I went to the hospital to change the medicine for a week. It took more than a month before I dared to move slowly.

Many people have a misunderstanding about resuming gymnastics after childbirth. They think that practicing this is to quickly lose weight before pregnancy. To be honest, if you practice with this purpose, you will most likely make detours. The core purpose of resuming gymnastics within six months after childbirth is to help you bring the abdominal wall that has been stretched by pregnancy and the pelvic floor muscles that have been compressed for ten months back to normal, and solve problems that affect your life such as urinary leakage, back pain, and organ prolapse. Losing weight is incidental. If you do intense fat-burning exercises right from the start, you will only make your already weak core worse. Some people say that "the sooner you practice, the faster your recovery will be." This also depends on the situation. If you have a lot of postpartum bleeding and feel dizzy when you sit up, don't force yourself to move. Eat and sleep well first. It's not too late to be energetic before moving. You should not miss the three to five days.

In fact, I have met so many postpartum mothers, and my biggest feeling is that there is no standard recovery timetable? Some mothers are bouncing around after confinement, while others still have back pain after half a year. The individual differences are much greater than you think. When doing recovery gymnastics, don't compare your progress with others. Your own feelings are the most accurate. If it hurts, feels uncomfortable, or leaks more, stop immediately and rest for two days. Practice slowly, which is much more effective than trying to catch up. After all, being a mother is tiring enough, so don’t add so many KPIs to yourself about “how long it takes to recover,” right?